The Kitchens
by SilkYuzu
Summary: GoF. Despite his sour mood, Harry enjoyed walking down the vast corridors in his pajama sweatpants and shirt while being barefoot. He was suprised to find out he wasn't the only wizard hungry for a late night snack though. Oneshot. CedricHarry.


All in all, it had been a downright horrid day from when he woke up to when he went back to the Gryffindor dorms to go to sleep. Ron wasn't talking to him. The visiting schools thought Hogwarts was cheating the TriWizard Tournament. Half of the student body had decided to sport those vile little buttons.

It wasn't his fault that the Goblet of Fire had chosen him. He didn't put his name in! There was no possible way to get past Dumbledore's line, and the twins had proved this during their attempt. If he had tried to slip his name into its blue fires, the students would have found their savior sporting a very long white beard.

Which he was most certainly _not_.

Harry rolled over in his bed, restless. He couldn't sleep. Things this year were just getting out of hand, and at this rate, Harry couldn't see himself getting out of the growing sticky situation. Sighing finally and accepting that sleep was not going to grace him tonight, Harry rolled out of bed. Slipping his invisibility cloak over his sleep clothes, he walked out of the dorms.

Despite his sour mood, Harry enjoyed walking down the vast corridors in his pajama sweatpants and shirt while being barefoot.

Making his way through the maze that was Hogwarts, he made his way to a particular painting. Reaching his hand out from beneath the cloak, Harry tickled the pear in the painting.

Immediately, the painting moved aside and allowed entrance. After walking inside the kitchens, the painting swung closed behind him. Harry pulled off his cloak and was greeted by a party of house elves.

"Master Potter!" Squealed Dobby, his excitement evident in his wide grin, "What an honor to see you here tonight!"

Harry smiled, "It's good to see you too Dobby."

"Yes," Dobby continued, "What an honor to have _two_ wizards visit the kitchens tonight…"

A house elf took Harry's cloak and hung it up so that it was out of the way. Harry kept his eyes on Dobby though, "Two?" He cocked his head to the side slightly.

"Potter?" A new, surprised, and pleased voice joined the conversation.

"Hm?" Harry looked up from Dobby too see who else was there. Not many people knew about the kitchens and how to get in them as far as Harry saw. It didn't seem like a secret that the twins would just blab to everyone. He was surprised to see the Hufflepuff, Cedric Diggory, leaning against a door frame with a wide grin on his face. "_Cedric_?"

Cedric took a quick chomp out of the juicy pear he held in his right hand, "I see that I wasn't the only one who wanted to get a snack." He smirked in an amused way as he saw the Gryffindor's vacant expression.

The Hufflepuff Hogwarts champion was also wearing pajamas like the younger Gryffindor, but Harry noticed how Cedric had the ability to look like a runway model in whatever he was wearing. The baggy brown sweats he was wearing hung loosely off his hips, and the grey shirt he wore stopped just a fraction to short of coving up all of his bronze skin. Harry caught himself looking at the thin band of skin exposed on Cedric's pelvis…

"Hey Harry," Cedric stood up fully and off the door frame, his hair tossing to the side in a carefree manner, "well as usual the house elves went a little overboard, they've gone and made too much for me. Come on, I'll share with you." He gestured with his free hand to the other room before walking back in.

Harry followed the older wizard in, and was met with a small table covered in plates and bowls of mouthwatering treats. A bowl of fresh fruit, like the juicy pear Cedric continued to eat, a plate of éclairs, some pudding, and various candies.

Cedric leaned against the table, "It's all quite good."

Harry picked up a small strawberry smelling candy and popped it in his mouth, savoring the sweet flavor. "So you couldn't sleep either?"

"Nah." Cedric shook his head, "I was thinking about what you said earlier today… you know, about the dragons?"

The Gryffindor nodded, sucking on the candy. Thinking back to earlier today, brushing over the less than pleasant moments, Harry remembered how he had pulled Cedric off to the side to tip him off. "Yeah… I was tipped off earlier and I thought it was only fair to let you know. I think that Krum and Fleur know as well, so it seemed only right to have you in the loop as well. I mean you are the 'real' champion of Hogwarts." Harry sighed, his mood once sour once again.

"I really did try to make them take off those buttons Harry." Cedric looked truly apologetic.

"Hmm…" Harry kept his gaze trained on the foods before him. The candy had dissolved quickly in his mouth, so he reached out for an éclair.

Cedric put down his pear and took a step closer to Harry, "I'm sorry for all the rot you've been going through lately. I heard that your friend has been giving you a hard time lately…" He smiled a little and put a hand on Harry's shoulder, "…You know, if you ever just want to talk…" He paused and cocked his head to the side that once again had Harry thinking of some sort of super model, "…I'll be happy to be there for you."

There was a silence between the two as Harry looked at Cedric with thankful green eyes. He didn't admit it aloud, but the kind words of the Hufflepuff had been exactly what he wanted to hear. With his friendship with Ron and Hermione strained… Harry was grateful to have the model-like older wizard's strong shoulder to lean on.

He bit into his éclair and Cedric return to his pear.

"So I was wondering on how to best deal with dragons…"

* * *

Time had moved quickly, and it was now very early in the morning. In only three or four hours, the sun would rise and classes would begin. Though they didn't want to admit it, both wizards knew that it was time to turn it in for the night. They had talked the entire time about anything that didn't involve the tournament or the _Daily Prophet_. Sometime during the night, they had moved to sitting positions against the wall, sitting so close together that their shoulders and arms touched.

Harry yawned and bags had formed under his eyes, "I better go. You need sleep when it seems like your classmates are going to jump you at any given second." He moved to stand up when Cedric grabbed his arm gently and held him in place.

"Hold on." Cedric reached out with his other hand, and with his thumb wiped the side of Harry's mouth. There had been some cream from an éclair there, just sitting there innocently. Cedric smiled and then licked it off his thumb, "There you go. I couldn't have the Boy-Who-Lived very well walk around with a bit of dessert on his face."

Harry's neck and face heated up, "T-thanks."

"No problem."

Before the situation intensified, Harry said a quick goodbye and grabbed his cloak. Making a beeline for the Gryffindor dorms, he slunk back in and walked towards his bed. Laying down, he let out a contented sigh as the soft mattress embraced him. Pulling the covers up and getting comfortable, Harry paused and set his hand on his face where Cedric had touched him. The Hufflepuff had left his hand there for a few moments longer than he had to. Did he…?

Before thinking on the subject further, Harry declared that he didn't care either way before falling into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

**Yes, this oneshot was a little offbeat from my usual Harry Potter pairing of Draco/Harry, but I've always had a soft spot for Cedric. This was more of a drabble than anything else, but let me know what you think about the style, I've been trying to improve it.**


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